Preface to the fifth edition xiIntroduction xiiiAcknowledgements xvi

1 The process of communication 1

1.1 The objectives of communication 11.2 The meaning of words 21.3 Non-verbal communication 31.4 The context or situation 41.5 Barriers to communication 41.6 Why? Who? Where? When? What? How? 61.7 Planning the message 8

Summary – how to communicate 11

2 Speaking effectively 12

2.1 Basic speaking skills 132.2 Qualities to aim for when speaking 22

Summary – good speaking 22

3 Listening 23

3.1 Listening – the neglected skill 233.2 Reasons for improving listening 253.3 Are you a good listener? 273.4 Ten aids to good listening 28

Summary – good listening 32

4 Human interaction and non-verbal communication 33

4.1 Metacommunication and paralanguage 344.2 The language of silence 354.3 The language of time 364.4 Body language or kinesics 38

v

Contents

4.5 The underlying psychology: NLP, EI and TA 494.6 Conflict between verbal and non-verbal communication 52

Summary – the importance of paralanguage in human interaction 52

5 Talking on the phone 55

5.1 Telephone problems 565.2 Basic phone rules 585.3 Receptionists 605.4 Making a call 625.5 Gathering information by phone 635.6 Answering the phone 645.7 Voicemail 685.8 Mobile phone manners 69

Summary – good telephoning 72

6 Interviewing 73

6.1 Interviewing weaknesses 736.2 What is an interview? 756.3 The purposes of the interview 766.4 Types of interview information 766.5 How to plan an interview 786.6 Structuring the interview 806.7 How to question and probe 82

Summary – Interviewing 90

7 Being interviewed for a job 93

7.1 Preparing – the organisation 947.2 Preparing – know yourself 997.3 At the interview 1027.4 Tips to remember 106

Summary – being interviewed for a job 106

8 Communicating in groups or teams 108

8.1 Advantages of groups 1108.2 Disadvantages of groups 1138.3 Factors affecting group effectiveness 115

Summary – making groups and committees work 129

9 Running and taking part in meetings 131

9.1 Chairing meetings 1319.2 Decision-making methods 134

vi MASTERING Communication

9.3 Responsibilities of participants 1359.4 Duties of officers and members 1389.5 The agenda 1389.6 The minutes 1419.7 Videoconferencing and audioconferencing 1449.8 Formal procedure 145

10 Giving a talk 150

10.1 Techniques of public speaking 15210.2 Preparation 15310.3 Developing the material 15710.4 Opening the talk 15910.5 Closing the talk 16210.6 Visual aids 16310.7 Use of notes 16410.8 Practising the talk 16510.9 Room and platform layout 16610.10 Delivery of the talk 167

Summary – being a good speaker 167

11 Using visual aids 168

11.1 General principles 17011.2 Whiteboards, electronic copy boards, interactive boards 17111.3 Flip charts 17211.4 Build-up visuals 17311.5 Physical objects 17411.6 Models and experiments 17511.7 Overhead projector (OHP) 17711.8 Data projector or multimedia projector 17911.9 35mm slide projector 18011.10 Videos and DVDs 18211.11 Closed-circuit television and video 18311.12 Points to remember about visual aids 18411.13 Video and DVD hire and purchase 186

Summary – being in control of visual aids 187

12 Faster reading 188

12.1 How do you read? 19012.2 The physical process of reading 19212.3 Ways of increasing your vocabulary 197

Summary – faster reading 198

Contents vii

13 Better reading 200

13.1 Determine reading priorities 20013.2 Scanning 20113.3 Skimming 20413.4 SQ3R method of reading 209

Summary – better reading 212

14 Writing business letters 215

14.1 Why good letter writing matters 21614.2 Backing up the phone call or meeting 21714.3 Planning a letter 21714.4 Layout and style 22514.5 The structure of a letter 22914.6 Dictating 23714.7 Standard letters 240

Summary – writing business letters 240

15 Applying for a job 241

15.1 What sort of job do you want? 24215.2 What is available and what are they looking for? 24615.3 The application itself 25015.4 Job-hunting on the Internet 263

Summary – applying for a job 265

16 Writing reports 267

16.1 What is a report? 26816.2 Types of report 26916.3 Essentials of a good report 27016.4 What is the purpose of the report? 27016.5 Fundamental structure 27216.6 Format, layout, headings and numbering 27316.7 Long formal reports 27916.8 House style 28516.9 How to get started 28616.10 Setting your objective 28616.11 Researching and assembling the material 29016.12 Organising the material and planning the report 29216.13 Writing the first draft 29416.14 Editing the report 29516.15 Producing the report 297

Summary – report writing 301

viii MASTERING Communication

17 Memos, messages, emails, faxes, forms, questionnaires, etc… 304

17.1 Memos 30517.2 Email 30817.3 Fax 31117.4 Postcards and reply cards 31317.5 Text messaging 31417.6 Forms and questionnaires 317

Summary – other writing tasks 320

18 Visual communication 323

18.1 When to use charts and graphs 32318.2 Presentation of statistical data 32818.3 Presenting continuous information 33118.4 Presenting discrete or non-continuous information 33518.5 Presenting non-statistical information effectively 348

19 Getting to grips with grammar 360

19.1 Why does grammar matter? 36119.2 What is grammar? 36119.3 How good is your English? 36319.4 The parts of speech in brief 36619.5 The framework of English 37019.6 The architecture of the sentence 371

20 Common problems with English 376

20.1 Subject–verb agreement 38020.2 Problems with verbs 38020.3 Problems with adjectives 39420.4 Problems with adverbs 39920.5 Problems with pronouns 40120.6 Problems with prepositions and conjunctions 41020.7 Problems with ellipsis 41720.8 Problems with negatives 41920.9 Revision of grammar 420

Appendices 422

A Punctuation made easy 422B Using capitals 430C Using numbers 431D Business clichés or ‘commercialese’ 433E Commonly misused and confused words 435F Ten (simple?) rules of spelling 439

Contents ix

G Commonly misspelled words 442H Tips on modern business style 444I Differences between men and women communicating 446

A final word 449Bibliography 451Answers to exercises 454Index 474

x MASTERING Communication

Human communication is fraught with problems and difficulties. Howoften do we say or hear statements like ‘I didn’t really mean that’ or ‘Youstill don’t see what I mean’, or ‘You don’t seem to have grasped the point’?Whatever we try to communicate, something often seems to get in theway and we are not understood in the way we intended. But even whenwe are understood we often fail to get people to think or behave in the waywe would wish, since when we communicate we really have four mainobjectives.

1.1 The objectives of communication

Whether we are writing or speaking, trying to persuade, inform, entertain,explain, convince or educate or any other objective behind the particularcommunication task we are engaged in, we always have four general objectives.

1

chapter 1Theprocess of communication

The process of communication

Sender orsource

Channel orMedium Decoding

Encoding:Messagecreation

Receiver

Z– Z– Z– Z– Z–

Z–Z–

Z– = Noise or interferenceFeedback

Can you suggest four general objectives which are true of all efforts to communicate?

SELF-CHECK

When we fail to achieve any one of these, we have failed to communicate. Thiscan often lead to frustration and resentment expressed in phrases like ‘Don’tyou understand plain English?’

But what is ‘plain English’? English after all is only a code which we use toexpress the thoughts in our head, and a code can only be understood if bothparties give the same meaning to the symbols that are used. Words are onlysymbols that represent things and ideas, and we attach slightly different mean-ings to the words that we hear and use. The meanings that we give to wordsresult from the way we each interpret the world around us, and for each of usthat world is seen and understood differently.

1.2 The meaning of words

It is therefore our individuality that is the main barrier to effective communi-cation. While it is true that we all went through the process of learning ourmother tongue and we learned to give roughly the same meaning to words asthose around us, we must nevertheless recognise that the only connectionbetween a word and the thing it represents is whatever association a particulargroup of people has chosen to make.

What does the word ‘dap’ mean to you? Depending on what part of the coun-try you come from, it may mean nothing, or it may mean what others may calla ‘plimsoll’, ‘tennis shoe’, ‘pump’ or ‘trainer’. The thing itself may be roughly thesame but what you call it will depend on what the community you lived in whenyou learned the word agreed, rather arbitrarily, to call it. With concrete words– words which describe things we can touch, feel, hear, see or smell – we mayhave fewer difficulties in explaining what we mean because if all else fails wecan point to the things. Provided that the other person has experienced thatthing before, they will recognise it and therefore understand us. But what aboutabstract words – words that describe sensations, feelings, emotions, ideas?How can you be sure that someone else gives the same meaning as you to wordslike ‘danger’, ‘love’, ‘hate’, ‘wicked’ and so on? The meanings attached to thesewords will be the result of each person’s past experience. For example, if youspend much of your life climbing mountains or driving racing cars the word‘dangerous’ will have a very different meaning from that given to the word by,say, the parent of a toddler, or a high-powered business tycoon.

2 MASTERING Communication

The objectives of communication

u to be received (heard or read)u to be understoodu to be acceptedu to get action (change of behaviour or attitude)

CHECK POINT

1.3 Non-verbal communication

Of course we don’t only use words to communicate. Every time we communi-cate we are sending out messages by means of all sorts of other things. In fact,even when we are not actually writing or speaking we are still communicatingsomething, even if unintentionally.

Obviously, we may use pictures to communicate our message, either to replacewords or more importantly to reinforce our verbal message. But, consciously orunconsciously, when we speak we will also communicate by other means.

All these non-verbal elements of communication are sometimes called ‘meta-communication’, from the Greek word ‘meta’ meaning ‘beyond’ or ‘in additionto’. ‘Metacommunication’ is therefore something ‘in addition to the communi-cation’ and we must always be aware of its existence.

It is essential to remember that the metacommunication which accompaniesany message is very powerful. The receiver will use these clues to help them tointerpret what you mean, but more importantly they will often take the mean-ing from the metacommunication rather than from the words themselves,particularly when what you are saying conflicts with what you are doing. If, for

The process of communication 3

Make a list of the other ways we communicate when we speak or write – the non-verbal means of communication. You will find more about these in Chapter 4.

Non-verbal communicationu facial expression – a smile, a frownu gestures – movement of hands and body to help to explain or emphasise our

verbal messageu body posture – how we stand or situ orientation – whether we face the other person or turn awayu eye contact – whether we look at the other person or not, and the length of time

that we look at the other personu body contact – a pat on the back, an arm round the shoulderu proximity – the distance we stand or sit from the personu head-nods – to indicate agreement or disagreement or to encourage the other to

go on speakingu appearance – physical grooming and choice of clothesu non-verbal aspects of speech – variations of pitch, stress and timing; voice qual-

ity and tone of voice (these are sometimes called ‘para-language’)u non-verbal aspects of writing – handwriting, lay-out, organisation, care, neatness

and visual appearance generally

CHECK POINT

SELF-CHECK

example, you are angry but trying to hide your anger you must be aware of yourbody posture, the way you use your eyes, gestures and facial expressions, andthe tone of your voice, which may well give you away. Similarly, in writing, the‘tone of your voice’ may show.

1.4 The context or situation

Just as the words (the verbal message) and the non-verbal message may beinterpreted differently by different people, so the same person may attributedifferent meanings to the same words at different times and in differentcontexts. After all, we don’t communicate in a vacuum; the art of communi-cation always takes place within a situation or context. The situation willhave a history and particular characteristics which will make it differentfrom any other situation. Certainly, in order to communicate at all, we learnto recognise similarities in situations so that we can learn from our experi-ences. This is obviously essential or we would never know what to do orwhat to expect.

But, just as this looking for similarities in situations can be helpful, it canalso be harmful for there is always a danger that we will assume a situationis familiar and therefore assume we know what to say and do. For example,supposing you have only met a person once, and on that occasion theybehaved in an arrogant and dictatorial manner. Is it not likely that when youmeet them again you will expect them to behave in the same way? However,while you are assuming that the situation is the same and that therefore theirbehaviour will be the same, you may have neglected to recognise that thetwo situations are different and that therefore they may well behave verydifferently in each. The danger lies in your expectations: for, if you expectthem to be arrogant and dictatorial, you may react to them in an aggressiveway and it may be precisely that aggression which causes them to feel inse-cure and under attack, resulting in their adopting an arrogant and dictato-rial stance in order to stand up to you. You leave them, content that yourimpressions were right – they are arrogant and dictatorial and thereforeunpleasant. But, in a different situation they may behave and therefore speakdifferently, and if you had behaved differently towards them they might nothave been arrogant and dictatorial to you this time. Remember! Behaviourbreeds behaviour.

1.5 Barriers to communication

Now let’s look at some factors which can cause problems for communicationand which we must be aware of if we are to overcome them or communicate insuch a way as to minimise their effect.

4 MASTERING Communication

Differences in perception

The way we view the world is largely determined by our past experiences, sopeople of different ages, nationalities, cultures, education, occupation, sex,status, personality and so on will each have different perceptions and will eachperceive situations differently. Differences in perception are often at the root ofmany of the other barriers to communication.

Jumping to conclusions

We often see what we expect to see, and therefore hear what we expect to hear,rather than what is actually there. This may lead us, as the saying goes, ‘to puttwo and two together and make five’.

Stereotyping

Because we have to learn from our experiences, we run the risk of treatingdifferent people as if they were the same: ‘You’ve met one copper/student/foreigner/car salesman, you’ve met them all!’ we often hear, or words to thateffect.

Lack of knowledge

It is difficult to communicate effectively with someone who has a very differentbackground from yours, or whose knowledge of the particular subject ofdiscussion is considerably less than yours. Of course, it is possible, but itrequires skill on the part of the communicator to be aware of the discrepancybetween the levels of knowledge and communicate accordingly.

Lack of interest

One of the greatest barriers to overcome is the receiver’s lack of interest in yourmessage. You should always be alert to this as a possibility, since it is so easy toassume that everyone is as concerned about our interests as we are. Where thelack of interest is obvious and understandable you must work particularly hardto angle your message to appeal to the interests and needs of the receiver.

Difficulties with self-expression

If, as the communicator, you have difficulty finding the words to convey yourideas, this will clearly be a barrier and you must work at improving your vocab-ulary. But lack of confidence, which can also cause difficulties in expression,can be boosted by careful preparation and planning.

The process of communication 5

Emotions

The emotions of either receiver or communicator can also prove to be a barrier– any strongly felt emotion is liable to prevent almost anything but the emotionbeing communicated. The moral, of course, is to try to avoid communicatingwhen a strong emotion is liable to make you incoherent or when it will totallydistort what you mean to say. However, any audience knows that a speaker withno emotion and enthusiasm in their voice is likely to be a dull speaker – soemotion can be a good thing.

Personality

In the example above about someone who appeared to be arrogant and dicta-torial we saw that it is not just the differences in people’s personalities that cancause problems: often our resulting behaviour can then affect the behaviour ofthe other person. This kind of ‘clash of personalities’ is one of the mostcommon causes of communication failure. We may not be able to change thepersonality of others, but at least we should be prepared to consider our ownpersonality to see if a change in our behaviour may result in more satisfactoryrelationships – however unpalatable this sort of self-analysis may be.

These are only a few of the many factors which can cause communication to beless than effective or even fail completely. But it is quite a good place at whichto end this discussion of potential barriers because it leaves us with the recog-nition that it is up to us, either as the receiver or the communicator, to makeconditions as satisfactory as possible so that communication – a far fromperfect process – stands a chance of being effective.

So far, we have looked very briefly at some of the more important factorswhich affect our success in communicating. Now let’s move on to examineways in which we might make sure that we communicate as effectively as possi-ble. The first golden rule is to think ahead. If we can predict some of the likelyproblems before we communicate, we may be able to avoid them.

1.6 Why? Who? Where? When? What? How?

Whatever communication task you are undertaking, asking these six simplequestions before you start will give your communication a better chance ofsuccess and make the task easier. Check points follow each question.

Why? (purpose)

u Why am I communicating?u What is my real reason for writing or speaking?

6 MASTERING Communication

u What am I hoping to achieve? Change of attitude? Change of opinion?u What do I want the receiver(s) to do as a result of my communication?u What is my purpose? To inform? To persuade? To influence? To educate? To

sympathise? To entertain? To advise? To explain? To provoke thought?

Who? (receiver)

u Who exactly is my audience (listener or reader)?u What sort of people are they? Personality? Education? Age? Status?u How are they likely to react to the content of my message?u What do they know already about the subject of my message? A lot? Not

much? Nothing? Less/more than I do?

Where and when? (place and context)

u Where will they be when they receive my message? In their office close toother relevant material? Or isolated from the problem so that I may need toremind them of the facts?

u At what point in the total matter does my message come? Am I replying tosomething they have raised? Or will my message represent the first they haveheard about this topic/problem/issue?

u What is my relationship with the receiver? Is the subject of my message thecause of controversy between us? Is the atmosphere strained or cordial?

Answers to these questions will help you to find answers to the next set of ques-tions more easily than if you jump straight in with ‘What do I want to say?’

What? (subject)

u What exactly do I want to say?u What do I need to say?u What do they need to know?u What information can I omit?u What information must I include in order to be:

e Clear?e Constructive?e Concise?e Correct?e Courteous?e Complete?

(the six Cs of effective communication)

The process of communication 7

How? (tone and style)

u How am I going to communicate my message? With words? Or pictures? Orboth? Which words? Which pictures?

u Which medium of communication will be most appreciated? Written orspoken? An email or post-it note, or a phone call? A letter (whether emailedor posted) or a personal chat or interview? A report (whether emailed orposted) or an oral presentation?

u How will I organise the points I want to make? Shall I use deductive sequence(start with my main points and then go on to the explanation/examples/illustrations)? Or inductive sequence (start with the explanation/examples/illustrations and lead on to the main point at the end)?

u How am I going to achieve the right effect? What tone must I use to achievemy purpose? Which words must I use/avoid in order to create the righttone?

In some cases the answers to these questions will come quickly. In fact, theymay seem obvious. But beware – it is very easy to jump to conclusions, to seethe problem from your point of view and forget that your listeners or readersmay see things differently. It is always worthwhile going through these ques-tions before you communicate anything difficult or of some length and it isuseful to bear them in mind even when you are communicating spontaneously.They act as a gentle discipline to stop you ‘opening your mouth without think-ing’ – particularly easy when emailing.

But with more difficult problems or sensitive issues, it is often worthwhilepondering over these questions even for several days and sometimes weeksbefore you write or speak.

1.7 Planning the message

Only when you have given some thought to these six essential questions areyou ready to plan your message.

8 MASTERING Communication

PLEASE ENGAGE BRAIN BEFORE OPENING MOUTH

(OR PRESSING THE SEND KEY!)

Stage 1 Write down your purpose

It is always a good idea to write down (preferably in one or two sentences)exactly what you are trying to achieve by your message. You will then have italways before you to help you to organise your material and avoid straying fromthe point.

Stage 2 Assemble the information

Using notes on paper, index cards or notes on your PC, especially if it is to be afairly long message like a report or oral presentation of some kind, jot down allthe ideas or points which you think you need to make.

At this stage you need to select only the essential, relevant information andreject the irrelevant, however much you may feel tempted to include it. Askyourself questions like ‘Is this really relevant to my message?’ ‘Does my audi-ence (listener or reader) really need to have this information if they are tounderstand my message?’ ‘Will this help me to achieve my purpose?’

Stage 3 Group the information

Now consider your list and look for links between the bits of information.Rewrite your notes in clear groups. It helps to give each group a heading. Thegroups will probably become the paragraphs or sections in your finishedmessage and the headings will either remain as headings (if headings are appro-priate) or contain the gist of each group and will therefore help you to composethe main sentence of the paragraph, often called the ‘topic-sentence’. Rememberthat all paragraphs should have only one main idea. All the other ideas in theparagraph will be supporting material – examples, elaboration, illustrations andso on, of the main idea (see Figure 13.1, diagram of a paragraph).

Stage 4 Put the information into logical sequence

Your next task is to put the groups of information (still only in note-form) intosome sort of sensible order which your reader can follow.

u Chronological order – this is sometimes called historical order and isperhaps the most common method, which merely presents the material inthe order in which it occurred or occurs in time. On occasions, presenting

The process of communication 9

What are the most commonly used methods of ordering material?

SELF-CHECK

the material chronologically is the most appropriate order to adopt, but don’tuse this method without some critical thought. Since most of the things weneed to write about in business have a time sequence, there is always a temp-tation to use this method even when it is not the most appropriate. Alwaystry to look for some other logical link between the sections of your material.

u Spatial (or place) order – effective for describing machinery, buildings,furniture, geographical location. Facts are presented on a geographical basis– from place to place: from north to south, top to bottom, left to right, highto low, in and out, up and down or near to far.

u Order of importance – descending order of importance (or deductive order):starting with the most important point to gain the reader’s attention; orascending order of importance (or inductive order): starting with the leastimportant point. Inductive order is not usually advisable in business writingexcept in persuasive writing where it can be very effective.

u Ascending order of complexity – simpler ideas first followed by increasinglydifficult or complex material.

u Descending order of familiarity – moving ‘from the known to the unknown’.u Cause and effect – put simply, cause and effect means ‘because of this, then

that’. In other words, ‘because this happened, that happened’.u Topical – sometimes, of course, there appears to be no real link between the

chunks of material and no obvious pattern of development. In this case, allyou can do is deal with each chunk on a topic-by-topic basis.

Stage 5 Produce a skeleton outline

By working through the previous four stages you will have produced, in effect,a plan or skeleton outline of your finished message, but if this outline is notclearly on your screen or a piece of paper and your message is fairly long, it isessential to produce this plan which you can then use to work from. It will makethe job of writing or presenting your final message much easier and thereceiver’s job of understanding you also much easier.

Stage 6 Write the first draft

Now you are ready to start writing. Write the first draft to yourself. Don’t worryat this stage about the style and the words – that can come later. Many peoplefind that actually starting to write, particularly anything of any length andcomplexity, is the most difficult barrier to get through. However, if you take thisadvice and you have done the necessary preparation and planning, includingsome thoughts on what you are going to put in the introduction, the main bodyof the message, and the conclusion, you will probably find that the words them-selves come much more easily.

10 MASTERING Communication

Stage 7 Edit the rough draft and write the final draft

Once you have written the first rough draft you must put yourself in the shoes ofyour receiver. Read your draft through their eyes, checking for ambiguities, errors,awkward expressions, lack of signpost words (‘first’, ‘second’, ‘finally’, ‘on the otherhand’, ‘consequently’, etc.) which are essential to guide your reader along the routeof your argument, and, above all, aiming for a concise, easily understood style.

Summary – how to communicate

This introduction to communication is intended to provide you with a basicunderstanding of the communication process and the principles you shouldbear in mind particularly when writing. The remaining chapters deal in moredetail with the particular characteristics of different communication tasks.

The process of communication 11

Editing check list

u Vary the length of the sentences but keep them on the shorter side: 18–22 wordsshould be the average.

u Paragraphs should have only one main idea.u Use words that the reader will understand.u Avoid unbusinesslike colloquialisms (e.g. ‘to cut a long story short’).u Omit unnecessary words (‘serious’ in ‘serious crisis’).u Use the shorter or more familiar rather than the longer word or phrase, if appro-

priate: ‘start’ rather than ‘commence’, ‘buy’ rather than ‘purchase’.u Avoid hackneyed expressions (clichés – ‘please find enclosed’, ‘If I can be of further

assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me’).u Avoid needless repetition of words and phrases – find alternatives wherever possible.u Use sincere words – don’t overstate or exaggerate.u Use positive words rather than negative words if possible.u Use the active rather than the passive voice (for an explanation of this and other

aspects of grammar and style refer to Chapters 19 and 20).

Briefly describe a communication incident and list the barriers to communicationwhich prevented the right message getting through.

List and explain the main potential barriers to communication between two people who officially speak the same language.

(Answers will be found at the end of the book)

CHECK POINT

ASSIGNMENT

EXERCISE 1.1

Aabbreviations 368ABC of Chairmanship, Lord Citrine 146abstract words 2, 366, 444accent 18–19, 20, 22accuracy x, 14, 22, 61acknowledgements xiv, 279, 282active listening 28–30active reading 209, 210active voice 11, 381–2, 444address 226–31, 237, 251, 280, 310, 313address, forms of 231–4adjectives 366, 384, 388, 394–8, 444, 447adverbs 367, 383, 399–401, 444, 447advertisements (job) 242, 246–50, 259, 266agenda 114, 122, 138–41

order 122, 139–41hidden 119, (job adverts) 121steps in planning 140–1

agreementnoun–pronoun 406–10subject–verb 376–80

alertness 17, 22, 137algorithms 350, 352, 353Andreas, Steve 49Angell, David 322antecedents 408–10appearance 3, 15–16, 22, 29, 30, 38appendices 272, 280, 285, 295, 422–446application 241–66

form 102, 250–6, 265letter 102, 250, 256–63

applying for a job 93–107, 241–66on the Internet 263–5

Appraisal, Feedback and Development, CliveFletcher 92

articulation 18, 59ascending order 10assume 4attention 10, 28, 29, 30, 68, 92, 124, 157, 159attitudes 16, 21, 29, 36–8, 44, 52, 66, 76, 86, 89,

109–10, 119, 122, 135–6, 156, 290audience 7, 9, 15, 20–22, 35, 39, 155, 160audioconferencing 58, 144–5authorisation 280–1

author’s plan 292–4awareness 28, 50

BBandler, Richard 49bar charts 303, 335–9Barker, Alan 149barriers to communication 4–6, 10, 35, 137Beano meeting 146–9behaviour analysis 126–9, 130Berne, Eric 51Bevan, Aneurin 152bibliography 193, 280, 282, 451–3binary analysis 371–2binding 300–1Blair, Tony 152body contact 3, 41–4body language 14–16, 34, 38–49, 54Body Language, The Definitive Book of,

Allan and Barbara Pease 54body posture 3, 15–16, 22, 44–5Boyatzis, Richard 50Bradbury, Andrew 167, 187brainstorming 111Breakthrough Rapid Reading,

Peter Kump 199, 214breathing 17, 18build-up visuals 173–4Burns, Robert 100business letter writing 215–40Buzan Study Skills Handbook, Tony Buzan 303,

451Buzan, Tony 199, 214, 303

CCambridge Encyclopaedia of the English Language,

David Crystal 420, 452capitals (using) 430Cartwright, Roger 320careers office 247Careers Skills: Opening Doors into the Job Market,

D. Littleford et al. 266, 452categorisation 203cause and effect 10chairing a meeting 131–5

474

Index

chair’s duties 132Chambers Desktop Guides:

Better Spelling 420, 439, 442Business English 444Common Errors 375, 421Effective Grammar 375, 421Job Applications 107, 266Letter Writing 240Perfect Punctuation 422Professional Presentations 167Report Writing 301

channel (of communication) 1charts 335–48Choices: Jobs Through the Internet 97, 246, 266chronological order 9Churchill, Winston 412, 413, 426circle charts 340Citrine, Lord 146clarity 13, 22, 238, 272, 444clause 370–4, 414–17Clear Thinking, John Inglis and Roger Lewis 303clichés 11, 60, 160, 433–4, 445closed circuit television and video 183closing (the talk) 162–3code 2, 361coherence 254cohesiveness (of groups) 115–16, 118–21COIK fallacy 167collective nouns 377colloquialism 11commercialese 433–4, 445committees 107–9, 114, 118, 129, 132–49comparative adjectives 394Complete Plain Words, Sir Ernest Gowers 397,

409, 421complexity (order of ) 10complex sentences 373–5, 381complimentary close 227, 233–4, 305compound sentences 372, 381compound verbs 412–3comprehension 28, 190, 192, 194, 213, 326concentration 28–9, 60, 195, 201, 209, 211concrete words 2, 366, 444confidence 5, 14, 50, 99, 106, 152conjunctions 367, 372–3, 410–17, 411, 414–17Connolly, Billy 20consensus 114, 128context 4, 7, 79, 306continuation sheets 237continuous information (presentation) 331–5copy/copies 237, 299–300corrections 298–9cost of communication 56–7, 68, 144, 216, 292,

299–301, 308, 313, 315, 324covering letter 262–3Coyle, Martin 375, 421, 453Cs of effective communication 7, 217, 444culture 5, 36–8, 40–3, 46–8curriculum vitae 259–66, 261cutaway diagrams 352, 354–5

Ddata projector 179–80date 230

decision-making methods 134–5decision trees 352, 353decoding 38, 39, 43Designing for Desktop Publishing, D. Hudson 297,

303Desktop Publishing Manual, Kyle MacRae 297,

303desktop publishing 297deductive sequence 8, 10, 156, 219–20dependent clauses 373descending order 10delivery

of a talk 167at an interview 104

Develop your NLP Skills, Andrew Bradbury 53dialect 361diaphragm 17dictating 237–9diction 18–19, 20, 22discrete information (presentation) 329, 330,

335–47Disraeli 344, 428distinctness 17, 22distractions 29, 68draft 10–11, 294–5dress 15–16, 29duties of officers 138DVD 182–3

EEconomist Style Guide 452editing 11, 295egostates 51–2Elements of Style, W. Strunk and E.B. White 421Elements of E-mail Style, D. Angell and B. Heslop,

322ellipsis 417–19email 308–11Emerson, Ralph Waldo 152Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman 50, 53Emotional Intelligence (EI) 45–6emotions 6, 21, 48, 68, 290empathy 14, 22, 50, 87, 111employment agencies 247–8enclosures 237encoding 1, 39, 43enunciation 18, 59envelopes 229environment (of a group) 120–1Esrey, William 308E-Writing Dianna Booher, 294expectations 4, 121experiments (visual aids) 175–6exploded diagrams 352, 354–5expressions (facial) 3, 34expressiveness 17, 22eye contact 3–4, 15,22, 41eye movement 46–7, 192–3

Ffacial expressions 3–4, 14, 34, 38, 46, 57fact-finding interviews 90–1Fairbairn, G.J. 214familiarity (order of ) 10

Index 475

family tree charts 355–6fax 311–12feedback 30, 35, 39, 46, 57, 58, 62, 87figures 281fixation 192–4flaming 317Fletcher, Clive 92flip charts 172–3flow charts 349–51fly-ins 356Flynn, Nancy and Flynn, Tom 322fonts 278foreword or preface x, 279, 281–2,formal meeting procedure 145–9format (of reports) 273–9forms (designing) 317–20forms of address 231–4Forsyth, Patrick 303frame of reference 28, 112Frogs into Princes, Neuro-Linguistic Programming,

R. Bandler and J. Grinder 53‘functional’ paragraphs 277

Ggames 51Games People Play, Eric Berne 51, 53gaze

direction of 15, 46–7length of 15, 46–7

George, Lloyd 152gerunds 388–90gestures 3–4, 34, 38, 47–9, 57Goleman, Daniel 50, 53Good Word Guide 421, 452Gowers, Sir Ernest 397, 409grammar 360–448grammar test 363–6grammatical parallelism 391, 416graphic aids 325–7

using 325–7types 328–48

graphs 325–6, 328–35Greek roots 197–8Grinder, John 49grooming 15–16group dynamics 126–9group pressure 114group process 126, 136groups 108–30, 131–49

decision-making 110, 112, 134–5leadership styles 123–4, 143norms 116, 121objectives 118, 132roles 119–20, 122, 126–30size 110, 118task 112, 122, 127–8

Guardian Style Guide 452

Hhackneyed expressions 11, 60, 160, 445handouts 464handwriting 250, 252Handy, Charles 130Hayes, Manon 149

HayGroup 50he/she xiii, 406headings 227, 235, 273–7, 278head-nods 45, 60, 66Heslop, Brent 322‘hidden agenda’ 119, 134, 249–50his/her xiii, 406histograms 331–3house style 121, 225, 285–6How to Lie with Statistics, D. Huff 342, 348, 359How to Manage Meetings, Alan Barker 149How to Mind Map, Tony Buzan 303How to Read Faster and Recall More, Gordon

Wainwright 199, 214, 453How to Write Reports and Proposals, Patrick

Forsyth 303, 452Hudson, Diane 297, 303

II’m OK, You’re OK, Thomas Harris 54impersonal passive voice 382importance (order of ) 10index 285, 467–75index cards 9, 157, 165, 292inductive sequence 8, 10, 156–7, 219–20, 223–4infinitives 383–4inflection 21, 34influence (in groups) 120, 143information mapping 356, 358information trees 356, 357Inglis, John 303interaction patterns 125–6interest 5interjections 367Internet 97, 263–4interviewing 73–92Interviewing: A Practical Guide for Students and

Professionals, Daphne Keats 92, 453interviews 77–107

assessment form 90–2being interviewed 93–107fact-finding 91job 93–107planning 78–82purposes 75–7questions 82–90, 99–101structure 80–2, 89–90types 77types of information 76–7

intransitive verbs 368–9Introducing NLP, J. O’Connor and J. Seymour 54,

453

Jjargon 60, 445jaw movement 19Jay, Antony 170job

application 241–66advertisements 241, 246–9, 251, 257–9interviews 73–92, 93–107hunting on the Internet 263–5

Job Applications, Chambers 266job centres 247–8

476 MASTERING Communication

jumping to conclusions 5junk email 310

KKeats, Daphne 92Kennedy, J.F. 189kinesics 38–53Knight, Sue 49, 453knowledge 5Kump, Peter 214

LLanguage and the Internet, D. Crystal 322, 452larynx 17Latin roots 197–8layout 166, 184–5, 225–8, 273, 319leadership style 122–5Letter Writing, Chambers 240, 451letters 215–40

layout 225–8parts 220–7structure 229–37types 218

letterhead 229Lewis, Roger 303line drawings 352, 354lips 17–20listening 23–32, 87

in groups 124–37responses 30–1

logical order 9–10, 292logo 230

MMacRae, Kyle 297, 303magnetic board 173–4Maitland, Ian 72, 240Make Every Minute Count, Manon Hayes 149Make That Call, Iain Maitland 72, 240making a call 62–4manners 69–70maps (statistical) 343margins 236Marsen, Sky 303Mastering Desktop Publishing, Simon Mitchell

303, 452Mastering Advanced English Language, Sara

Thorne 375Mastering English Grammar, S.H. Burton 362,

375, 420, 451Mastering Marketing Management, R. Cartwright

320, 322, 451Mature Student’s Guide to Writing, Jean Rose

375, 421, 453Maugham, Somerset 391Mayer, John 50McBer 50McKee, Annie 50meaning of words 2medium (of communication) 1, 8meetings 108, 131–49

agenda 114, 122, 138–41chairing 131–5minutes 141–3procedure 145–9

memos 305–8metacommunication 3, 15, 34–52, 225–6Mind Map Book, Tony Buzan 303, 451mind-mapping 291, 292Minto, Barbara 293, 452minutes 141–3mirroring 49–50, 60, 63misrelated participles 384–7misused words 435Mitchell, Simon 303, 452mob psychology 114models (visual aids) 175–6Modern English Usage, H.W. Fowler 452Morris, Desmond 38, 49, 54multimedia projector 179–80Mumford A.C. 31muscles 15–17

Nneeds (of the receiver) 157negatives 419–20The Net: User Guidelines and Netiquette, Arlene

Rinaldi 322netiquette 309–11nerves 94, 99–100, 103, 105, 152, 165Netiquette Guidelines 322Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) 49–50The New Leaders, D. Goleman, R. Boyatzis and A.

McKee 54NLP at Work, Sue Knight 54non-continuous information 335–48non-statistical data (presentation) 348–59non-verbal aspects of speech 3–4, 34–53non-verbal aspects of writing 3, 206, 225–8,

273–7, 297non-verbal communication 3, 34–53norms (groups) 116, 121notes 9, 30, 62–8, 106, 157, 356–8

interview 106public speaking 157, 162, 164–5reading 211–13, 467reports 290–2telephone 62–8

nouns 366, 376–9, 444numbers (using) 431–2

OObama, Barack 152, 424O’Connor, Joseph 49objectives

communication 1–2group 119, 132meeting 132report 270, 286–9

open punctuation 228opening (a talk) 159–61oral communication

advantages 216–17disadvantages 216–17

ordercause and effect 10chronological 9, 156complexity 10deductive 10, 156

Index 477

order (cont.)familiarity 10inductive 10, 156importance 10spatial 10, 156topical 10

organisation 94–9organisation charts 355–6orientation 3, 44–5outline 10, 158outlining 158, 292overhead projector 177–9overlays 177, 356Oxford A–Z of Grammar and Punctuation,

John Seely 393, 421, 453Oxford Manual of Style 421, 453

Ppace 20–1, 374paper size 228–9paragraphs 9, 11, 204–6, 236, 370

functional 277paralanguage 3, 34–5, 52parliamentary procedure 145–9participation

groups 118–19meetings 135–8

participles 384–90, 445parts of speech 366–7passive voice 11, 381–2, 389pause (use of ) 21, 22, 31Peck, John 375, 421, 453Penguin Book of Quotations 158Penguin Book of Modern Quotations 158Peoplewatching, D. Morris 38, 49, 54perception 5, 53personality 6, 29, 48, 60, 244persuasive 10, 122Peters, Tom 308phone see telephonephonetic code 59photocopying 252, 256, 300phrase 370–1, 414physical objects (visual aids) 174–5pictograms 340–1pictorial charts 341–3pie charts 340pitch (of voice) 17, 21, 22planning 8–11

being interviewed 93–102giving a talk 153–7interviews 78–82letters 217–25the message 8–11reports 286–94

pleasantness 17, 22pointer 185–6population pyramid 336, 339postcards 313–14postcode 229posture 3–4, 16, 22, 44–9, 57, 105predicate 371–2Powerful Reports and Proposals, Patrick Forsyth

303, 452

PowerPoint 163, 164, 180preface x, 279, 281–2prejudice 29, 89preparation 8–11

being interviewed 93–102dictation 237–40giving a talk 153–7interviews 78–82letters 217–25reports 286–94

prepositional idiom 413prepositions 367, 410–14presentation (giving) 150–67, 168–87Presentation Skills for Students, J. van Emden and

L. Becker 167Professional Presentations, Chambers 167Professional Writing, Brian Cookham 303printing 298–301problem-solving 110, 122, 133process of communication 1–11productivity (of groups) 113, 115–17, 122projection (voice) 104projector

data 179–80overhead 177–9slide 180–2

pronouns 366, 401–10pronunciation 20, 22proof correction 298–9proximity 3, 40–4, 120Psychology of Interpersonal Behaviour, M. Argyle

53public speaking 150–67punctuation 236, 415, 422–9purpose

of communication 6–7of interview 75–6of letters 218–21of meetings 122of message 6, 9of reading 191of reports 268, 270–1, 286–9of talk 156–7

pyramid of ideas 293Pyramid Principle, Barbara Minto 293, 452

Qquestionnaires 290

designing 317–20questions

awkward 101–2job/career 99–102preparing for 99–102types 32–9

RRae, Connie 49Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell

146–9Read Faster and Recall More, G. Wainwright 198,

212reader reaction 218–20reading

better 200–14faster 188–99

478 MASTERING Communication

Reading, Writing and Reasoning, G.J. Fairbairn andC. Winch 214

receiver 1, 6–7receptionists 60–1recognition span 193–4recruitment agencies 264referees 253–5, 261reference numbering 277–9references

letter 230reports 282

reflecting back 31, 58regression 193relaxation 15, 22reply-paid postcards 313–14Report Writing, Chambers 303reports 268–301

essentials of a good report 270format 273–9purpose 270–1structure 272–3types 269–70, 287–8

Roget’s Thesaurus 153role functions 126–9role (groups) 119–20, 122, 125–9room layout 166Rose, Jean 375, 421, 453

Ssalutations 233–4, 305Salovey, Peter 50scanning 201–4scattergrams 331, 333schematic format 273–6scripts 51seating 120, 166secretary’s duties 138sectional headings (reports) 277–8Seely, John 393, 421, 453selection interviews 77, 93–106selective omission 344, 347self-expression 5sentences 370–5

length 11structure 371–2topic 9, 204–6, 370

sequencedeductive 8–10inductive 8–10logical 9

sequencing (questions) 89–90funnel 89inverted funnel 90tunnel 90

Seymour, John 49Shanahan, Eileen 114Shapiro, Mo 54signature 235, 305, 310signpost words 11, 207signposts 48, 203–4, 206–7silence 35–6, 63simple sentence 374–5, 381sincerity 11, 14, 22, 39situation 4, 7

size (group) 117–18skeleton outline 10skimming 204–9slang 105slide projector 180–2smiling 59, 60, 106smileys 310space 39–43, 297spacing 236, 297spam 315spatial order 10speaking 12–22speed (speaking) 20–21, 22

being interviewed 104reading 189–192telephoning 60–61

Speed Reading, Tony Buzan 199spelling 439–43split infinitive 383SQ3R reading 209–14standard letters 240standing orders 146–9statistical data 324–48statistical map 343stationery sizes 228–9status 40, 44

groups 119–20, 123–4Staying OK, A. Harris and T. Harris 54stereotyping 5, 89strokes 51structure of letter 229–37structure of a report 272–3, 279–85Student’s Guide to Writing, John Peck and Martin

Coyle 375, 421, 453Studner, P.K. 266style 225, 306–8, 444–5style of address 231–3subject (of a sentence) 371–2subject–verb agreement 376–80subjunctive 390–2subordinate clauses 373sub-vocalisation 194–5Successful Presentation Skills, Andrew Bradbury

22, 167, 187, 348summary 206, 282–4, 295, 314–16, 424Super Job Search: The Complete Manual for

Job-Seekers & Career Changers, P.K. Studner266, 453

superlative adjectives 394–5survey 209–14, 290symbols 361synchronisation of speech 45–8

Ttable of contents v, 281tables 281, 328talk (giving a) 150–67task (of a group) 112, 122telephone 55–72

about a job 251answering 64controlling the conversation 63difficult people 67gathering information 63

Index 479

telephone (cont.)listening 66, 68making a call 62–4messages 62, 66, 67, 68, 71mobile phone 69–70personality 54receptionists 60–61verbal clues 58voicemail 68–9

tenses 392–4tension 60terms of reference 131, 270–1, 279–81,

286–9territory 40testimonial 252text messaging 314–17textual presentation 328Thatcher, Margaret 152, 413That’s Not What I Meant, Deborah Tannen 54,

453thesis sentence 289Thorne, Sara 375time 36–8, 113–14timing 155, 166, 286title page 280–1titles 231–3tone 8

voice 3–4, 14, 16, 21, 22, 34, 58–9topic cards 164–5, 292topic sentence 9, 204–6, 289, 370topical order 10touch 43–4Transactional Analysis (TA) 51–2transitive verbs 368–9Tressall, Robert 146

UUltimate CV Book, Martin Yate 266, 453Understanding Neuro Linguistic Programming in a

Week, Mo Shapiro 54Understanding Organisations, Charles Handy

130, 452unrelated participles 384, 386–8Usage and Abusage, E. Partridge 421, 453Use Your Head, Tony Buzan 199, 214, 451

Vvalues 89, 118verbal adjectives 384, 388verbal nouns 388–90verbal signals or signposts 207verbs 367, 380–94, 444video camera 183videoconferencing 58, 144videos 182videotape 179, 180, 182–4visual aids 163–4, 168–87, 296, 326–8visual communication 66, 323–59visualisation 194–5visual literacy 349visual presentation

advantages 326non-statistical data 348–59principles 326–7statistical data 328–48

visual signals 206–7vocabulary 30, 195–8vocal chords 16–17vocal tension 19–22voice 17–22voicemail 68–9volume 18, 22

WWainwright, Gordon 199whiteboard 171–2Winch, C. 214words 2Working with Emotional Intelligence, Daniel

Goleman 50, 53Write That Letter!, Iain Maitland 240, 452Writing Effective E-mail, Nancy and Tom Flynn

322, 452writing 215–94written communication

advantages 216–17disadvantages 216–17

YYate, Martin 266, 453You Just Don’t Understand, Deborah Tannen 54,

453

480 MASTERING Communication